1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic telephone answering apparatus for recording an incoming message in a tape recorder while a called party is out.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus, a response message prerecorded in an outgoing message tape is played upon reception of an incoming call to tell a calling party to record his message and thereafter record an incoming message.
A conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus of this type is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 77483/1980 wherein the response message (to be referred to as an OGM (outgoing message) hereinafter) and a message (to be referred to as an ICM (incoming message) hereinafter) of a calling party are recorded in a single tape. FIG. 1 shows a format of the tape used in the above prior art.
Referring to FIG. 1, an OGM is recorded in a tape 1 from a point N.sub.0 to a point N.sub.1 for 60 seconds. An alarm portion is formed in a predetermined tape portion between the point N.sub.1 and a point N.sub.2 wherein an alarm signal is recorded. Incoming messages .circle.1 , .circle.2 , . . . , and .circle.n are sequentially recorded through the corresponding alarm portions. In the automatic telephone answering apparatus using this tape 1, a record/play head is aligned with the point N.sub.0 as the beginning of the OGM and waits for an incoming call. Upon reception of an incoming call, the apparatus is set in the play mode and the OGM is played. Then the already recorded ICMs are fast forwarded. Thereafter, the incoming call is newly recorded from a predetermined position. After the ICM is recorded, the tape 1 is rewound to the point N.sub.0 and waits for a next incoming call. It should be noted that the points N.sub.0 to N.sub.n represent addresses on the tape and are obtained by detecting the number of revolutions of the reel. The revolution number data is stored in a memory and used for controlling tape travel.
In a conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus using the tape 1 and subjected to remote control, a subscriber, i.e., a called party makes a phone call to this telephone from a remote location. The subscriber sends a remote control signal with a predetermined frequency to this telephone answering apparatus through telephone lines, thereby setting the apparatus in the play mode. All ICMs recorded while he is out can be reproduced through the telephone lines. Another conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus is known wherein the content of the OGM can be updated. Besides telling the calling party to record his message, the OGMs tell him also where the called party is staying, when he will return home, and the like. Therefore, the subscriber often wishes to update the OGM.
In the conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus capable of updating the content of the OGM with remote control operation, it is difficult to terminate a new OGM within a predetermined period of time (e.g., 60 seconds). When a new OGM is completely recorded and a remote control signal is sent to designate the end point of this OGM, the remote control signal is recorded on the tape. When another calling party makes a phone call to the apparatus, the head detects the remote control signal in the play mode of the OGM. Meanwhile, in the apparatus subjected to remote control, when the called party listens to the already recorded ICMs with a remote control operation from a remote location, the OGM is first played upon reception of the incoming call. When the remote control signal is sent while the apparatus is set in the OGM play mode, the apparatus is immediately set in the ICM play mode, so that the ICMs .circle.1 , .circle.2 , . . . , and .circle.n sequentially played and the subscriber can hear the recorded incoming calls. When the recorded remote control signal is detected in the OGM play mode upon reception of a phone call of a third party excluding the subscriber, the apparatus is erroneously set in the ICM play mode, and the third party can hear the already recorded ICMs .circle.1 to .circle.n . For this reason, the subscriber cannot send a remote control signal when a new OGM is completely recorded in the conventional automatic telephone answering apparatus. Even if an OGM is completely recorded in a time shorter than 60 seconds, the tape must be driven as a blank portion for the remaining time. When a period of 60 seconds has elapsed, the record mode can then be cancelled. Therefore, the calling party hears a meaningless voice of the old OGM or no sounds for the remaining time when listerning to an OGM. During the remaining time, the calling party must wait to no purpose.
In order to solve the above problem, an OGM updating remote control signal can be separately prepared. However, even in that case a remote control signal is recorded on the tape and the playback sound of the signal is heard by the calling party. The playback sound is essentially of no significance to the calling party, however, the calling party may mistakenly believe that the playback sound of the remote control signal is an alarm sound notifying him to record his message. The OGM updating remote control signal also complicates the circuit arrangement.